Red Sheets
by Simone's Secrets
Summary: When Rachel brings home a set of red satin sheets, a night of surprises with Joey follows.


Disclaimer: I don't own them. If you're underage, dislike stories about sex and romance, or don't like Joey and Rachel together, don't read this. If you like it, leave me a review. For those who know me or think they know me, let's just say I have my reasons, and leave it at that. 

Last but not least, don't dare me to do something unless you mean it, because I **will** do it, every time. Hence, you're reading this.

Now, on with the show…

****

Red Sheets

Rachel let herself into her apartment, the bag clutched tightly in her hand. After closing the door behind her, her eyes scanned the room. There was no sign of the object of her current obsession anywhere.

She tiptoed to his bedroom door and tapped quietly before opening it. The room was unoccupied. She shut the door without a backward glance and went into her own room.

She flipped on the light and tossed her purse onto the dresser. The bag was still in her hand, wrinkled where she'd gripped it so tightly. Determined to overcome her embarrassment, she flipped the bag over and spilled its contents onto her sedate floral quilt.

A package of red satin sheets and a copy of '101 Nights Of Seduction'.

Nothing really shocking, she reminded herself. Not like Phoebe, who made regular trips to the adult store.

After all, she was Rachel. She was "vanilla".

The red satin sheet set was a gag. A co-worker had invited her to a bridal lingerie shower after work, and the sheets were one of the door prizes. She'd blushed furiously when her number was called for a prize. She'd taken the package of sheets with a self-deprecating smile and wondered if everyone could guess that she hadn't been with anyone since the night her daughter had been conceived.

The book was an impulse purchase. She'd spotted the display of them next to the checkout counter in the lingerie store where she'd purchased the gift for the shower. 

At this point, desperation was setting in. She needed all the help she could get, and a how-to book couldn't hurt.

It had been so long, and the thought of starting all over with someone new was more than a little intimidating – it was positively nerve wracking. 

She puffed out a sigh and flopped down on her bed, the springs rebounding beneath her. Feeling like a teenage girl reading her mother's racy romance novel, she opened the book. 

__

Maybe it can tell me how to lure some unsuspecting stranger into my room for the night.

She flipped a page. The suggestions were interesting: handcuffs, blindfolds, costumes, sticky sweet food items.

Things to explore with someone you trusted, she admitted to herself. Not a random hook-up, which was all she had time for these days. Motherhood had a way of cramping your love life.

Relationships took time to build. Her nights were taken up with her daughter. She couldn't help but view things in a more serious light, now that she was responsible for another human being. She didn't want to bring just anyone into Emma's life. Ross wouldn't consider a bonus night with her – not that she wanted one with him anyway. The attraction was merely in the easiness of it. With Ross, it was familiar and safe, even if it did open up a box of issues that was better left closed.

She closed the book and put it on her bedside table with a scowl. She stripped her bed, throwing the sheets into her hamper before opening the package of red satin sheets. They felt like cool liquid beneath her hands. With a sigh of self-indulgence, she spread them over her bed, enjoying the smooth texture.

Standing back from her bed, she surveyed the new sheets with satisfaction. They were the color of melted rubies and had the sheen of a wedding dress. Until she found someone to share them with, why not enjoy them alone?

She made her way back to the kitchen and chucked some ice cubes into a glass before filling it diet soda. She took a long drink and began flipping through her mail. Nothing but junk. She threw it into the garbage, her mind drifting back to her present situation. Ross was out of the question. She had to devise another strategy.

Of course, there was always Plan B: Joey. She'd been having thoughts about him lately, not to mention the occasional dream that made her more than a little curious about what it would be like. She found herself increasingly attracted to him. It was as if her body had developed a chemical reaction to his. She stared at him when he wasn't looking, soaking up every detail of his handsome face and masculine form like a sponge. Even now, as she curled up in his chair, she inhaled his scent mixed with that of the leather upholstery. A purely sensual rush shot through every nerve in her body.

But the last time they'd played a game like this and gone out on a date together, he'd developed feelings for her. Feelings that had taken him a long time to get over - feelings that had been a source of pain for them both.

Lately, she'd wished that he wasn't over her. That it was all a ruse to make living together less awkward. That he spent his nights staring at the wall that divided their rooms, wanting it to disappear as much as she did.

But he _was_ over her. And she wasn't about to make a fool out of herself like she had when she was in her fourth month of pregnancy, throwing herself at him in a hormonal frenzy. He'd rejected that offer with a bluntness that stunned her. He'd do the same now.

She swirled her drink around in the glass, watching the ice cubes clinking against each other. Maybe she'd give Tag a call. It was possible that he was between girlfriends and open to a little walk down memory lane.

The thought was dismissed as soon as it was formed. She didn't want to get together with Tag. She wanted…

She heard his key in the door. She sat up, instantly on alert.

He opened the door and sauntered in, casually dropping his jacked on a barstool. "Hey, Rach." He opened the fridge and helped himself to a soda.

His presence impacted her like a bolt of thunder.

"How was your day?" She prayed that he couldn't read her thoughts. With a friendly smile, he dragged a stool over to sit beside her.

"It was cool…Drake did two surgeries." 

She thought back to her book and the new sheets on her bed. It was impossible to be in the same room with him and not think about how he'd look with that red satin pooling around him. She tugged at her hair and stared at him, her face coloring.

He took a sip of Coke and looked at her over the rim of the can. "What's wrong?"

She slid out of the chair and stalked back to her room with her diet soda, annoyed that he noticed her constant blushing. "Nothing. Why should anything be wrong?"

She slammed the door behind her.

The frustration was maddening. How could fate be so cruel as to have them develop feelings for each other at different times? She put her drink on the bedside table and picked up '101 Nights Of Seduction'. She pulled back the quilt and settled onto her new sheets, flipping open to a random page of the book.

__

"Find a quiet place to relax. Light a few scented candles and indulge in a daydream about your wildest fantasy."

That was easy enough. She retrieved a box of matches from the drawer in the tiny table and struck one, lighting the four Vanilla scented votive candles that ringed the tabletop. 

Soon the enticing fragrance of Vanilla wafted across the room like the essence of a dream.

Vanilla. How ironic.

She snuggled against the red satin pillowcase and let her mind drift through various fantasy scenarios. Exotic locations. Public places. Blindfolded. Tied up with silk scarves.

It wasn't working. None of it moved her. She bit her bottom lip until the pain forced her to stop. The only fantasy she wanted to investigate was in the living room, drinking a soda – not to mention totally unresponsive to her ravenous desire for him.

She got up and trudged to her mirror, leaving the book open on her bed. She studied herself from different angles – her snug black dress, her long straight hair, and high-heeled sandals. What didn't he see in her? She'd turned into a mom. That was why he wasn't interested anymore. He was so old-fashioned about certain things. He probably no longer saw her as woman – just as someone's mother.

"Rachel?" Joey knocked one time and pushed the door open. She turned away from the mirror, horrified that he would see her 'seduce me' sheets and draw the logical conclusion, but it was too late. He had already let himself into her room. "Do you have the phone book in here? I want to call in some meatball subs at the deli and I don't remember their –" He stopped, mouth open as his eyes raked her bed. "Woah, someone got new sheets!"

"That's uh…" She stammered, feeling her face turn a shade of scarlet to rival the sheets. "Those were a door prize at this bridal lingerie shower I went to after work."

He ran his hand over the fabric appreciatively. "Nice." Either her imagination was running away with her again, or a spark of some kind passed from him to her.

She leaned back against the dresser. "You sure can't get those at Ralph Lauren." Her heart palpitated as she admired the way his jeans and gray sweater showcased every delicious inch of him. She wanted nothing more than to wrap herself around that body all night long.

"What you got here? A book?" He picked up '100 Nights Of Seduction' before she could stop him. "Rachel!" He skimmed the page with a mischievous smile. "This is a sex book!"

She rushed to his side and tried to snatch the book from his hands. He held it up out of her reach. 

"Indulge in a daydream about your wildest fantasy," he read from the book and snickered. "Is that what you were doing in front if the mirror when I came in? Because that's one fantasy I'd like to hear more about…"

"Give me that." She tore the book from his hands and stomped across the room to hurl it into her closet. "I can't believe you're laughing at me. _You_, of all people."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You're Joey Tribbiani! You're Dr. Drake Ramoray! You're Mr. Sex! We all know you get it anytime you want, any way you want it. We're not _all_ that lucky, you know. Maybe instead of laughing at me, you could have a little sympathy for what I'm going through." She kicked her closet door shut with a bang. "Or not."

His expression changed from amusement to self-reproach. "I didn't mean to laugh at you, Rach." His tone was soft and lulling. "You know I'd never hurt you. It's just funny, you know, a woman like _you_ thinking you need stuff like _that_." He gestured to the closet that held the castaway book.

She softened like butter in the sunshine as his deep voice washed over her. "A woman like me?"

"Yeah…what guy wouldn't give ten years off his life to have one night with you?" He shifted from foot to foot, looking as if he'd already said more than he intended.

She felt a sudden swing of recklessness, realizing that she had nothing to lose.

"The one guy I want to spend a night with." Her heart thumped as if her entire future hinged on his answer.

He blinked. "Who?"

She groaned, rubbing her forehead with a limp hand as she shuffled back to her bed and sat down. She could almost hear him thinking, his mind running like a mouse in a maze.

The truth hit him like a cold hand slapping his face. "Oh my God!"

"And _now_ you know." She dropped back on the bed and rolled over onto her stomach to hide her face.

He pulled her back up to sit on the edge of the bed and kneeled down in front of her. "You want me to – you want us –" His hand swept her bed.

She made a contentious sound. "I don't know – I've been thinking about it…don't you _ever_ think about it?"

He pried her hand up from the sheet and took it in his, warming it. "When do I ever _not_ think about it?"

Her stomach fluttered with the force of a thousand butterflies. "Would it be _so_ wrong if we – just once?" She tilted her head to the side, readying herself for another rejection but praying he'd say yes.

His eyes widened. He held her hand like a vice. "Is that why you were reading that book? You don't need any of that stuff to convince me. I want this so much more than you could ever want it."

She reached out her other hand to stroke his jaw. "I don't know about that. I feel so nervous about being with someone new. I haven't been with anyone since –" She bit back Ross' name. "Since Emma was conceived."

His face held no laughter, only caring and understanding. "That's a long time to wait." He rubbed his hand up and down her forearm, causing every centimeter of her skin to tingle.

"It's almost like the first time all over again. I don't want it to be with a stranger, or someone I'm not comfortable with. I want it to be with someone who cares about me, someone I know is safe to share this with…" She turned her face from him and lowered her voice. "Lately I feel like some boring old mom that no one will ever want to be with again."

"Look at me," he ordered her. She did as he asked. "You are _not_ – I repeat, _not _– some boring old mom. You are the most beautiful, sexy, incredible –"

She wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and covered his mouth with hers.

She melted like cotton candy in the rain with that kiss. He backed away first. "One night. No one has to know." 

She nodded eagerly. "I won't say anything if you don't."

"I promise to make this the best night of your life, if you'll trust me."

She brushed her lips against his again, every cell alive and aching for him, each new feeling a revelation. "I trust you completely."

"And you'll let me do anything I want?" His eyebrows went up as he sought to detect any resistance in her face. "You have to trust that I know what I'm doing here."

"Anything." She stood up and wrapped her arms around him. "I couldn't be in better hands." She tilted her head back, awaiting the incomparable feeling of his mouth on hers.

His kiss was playful, teasing, forbidding her to deepen it until he was willing. She moaned impatiently against his lips. She'd seen him almost every day for nine years, but never had she imagined that kissing him would set every fiber of her being on fire this way.

She threaded her fingers through his hair and nipped his bottom lip in retaliation. Surprised, he paused just long enough for her to slip her tongue between his lips and into his warm, wet mouth. 

The first time their tongues touched, she felt an electrical current shoot from her mouth right down to her most feminine place. Her whole body was humming with awareness. This man knew how to kiss like no one she'd ever kissed before.

His tongue worked around hers, exploring, twisting, flicking counter-clockwise and then reversing. He withdrew it, becoming passive as she took the lead.

She plunged her tongue into his mouth again, tasting him, the dizzy heat they were generating almost branding her senseless. Her hands found their way under his sweater, pushing it up, demanding him to undress. 

He helped her by shoving the sweater off. Her hands roamed his body as he unzipped her dress and slid it off her shoulders. Wrenching herself away from him, she pulled it down and wiggled out of it, tossing it on the floor.

She moved to take off her high-heeled shoes but he stopped her. "Leave 'em on." His eyes burned with the urgency of his request.

"Whatever you want." She pressed her lips against his chest and kissed her way down slowly to the waist of his jeans. He moaned responsively, unconsciously pushing forward against her when she pulled his zipper down.

She tugged his jeans down. He kicked his shoes and jeans off, taking her by the shoulders and leaning her back on to the bed.

Her back made contact with the slick, cool satin sheets. He paused, leaning over her, admiration in his eyes.

"You need to wear red more often." To emphasize his point he smothered her with another mind-bending kiss. The scent of his skin combined with the Vanilla candles, drenching her senses.

His hands cupped her breasts, stroking and massaging them through the thin fabric of her black bra. She parted her legs for him, inviting him closer. He arranged himself on top of her and she felt the evidence of his arousal against her leg. His kisses made a wandering route from her neck to the edge of her bra. He sent a shudder through her by taking a strap in between his teeth and dragging it down her shoulder. She drew in a sharp breath as he repeated it with the other bra strap, his lips trailing over her shoulder as the strap came down.

She rubbed herself against him, already insatiable with longing before he finished undressing her. 

He put a hand on her hip and forced her to be still. "Be patient." His brown eyes met hers in an affectionate gaze. "I promised you a night to remember and I'm going to keep that promise."

He meant it. She knew him well enough to see the dedication behind his actions.

"I trust you." She commanded herself to stop rubbing against him and closed her eyes, breathless as she anticipated his next move.

His hands slid under her, raising her up on her elbows. He unhooked her bra with one try and pulled it apart in back before lowering her onto the bed again.

"I want to feel you before I see you." He ran his hands up her sides and under the bra, his hands molding to the roundness of her breasts.

She eyes closed as she sank deeper into the sensation of his hands on her, taunting the peaks of her breasts, rolling them under the palm of his hands until they burned for his mouth to find them. His moan of unmet need assured her that he was enjoying this too. She arched her back, trying to force the unfastened bra to fall off. Sensing that the torment was becoming unbearable, he removed the bra and dropped it on the floor beside the bed.

He rolled over, leaning on one arm as he let his eyes drink in the sight of her. "Those are the most gorgeous, perfect –"

"Don't talk." Gasping with urgency, she took his hand and placed it back on her breast. "And don't stop."

He moved back to her, again kissing her swollen lips with the slow attention that sent her hurtling closer to the edge. His hands glided down to her hips, sliding under the waist of her panties. 

She wiggled beneath him, assisting him as he pushed them down. He slid them down her legs slowly, like someone trying to unwrap a gift without tearing the paper or ribbons. Finally, he pulled them over the high-heeled shoes he'd begged her to leave on. He was free to take her to a new level of ecstasy.

In a flash he was back, poised over her, his lips and tongue finding her breasts just as she'd wanted him to do. He licked one as his hand tended to the other before switching sides. She elevated herself from the bed slightly, forcing his lips to find the swollen peak. He nuzzled her, wrapped his lips around it, and tantalized it with his tongue.

She was losing control, tossing beneath him, her skin damp as her temperature soared to match her pulse. He released her breast from his mouth and kissed his way down her body for what seemed like an eternity. Past her belly button, then lower…and lower…

Realizing what he was about to do, she raised up and sought his eyes. "You don't have to –"

"I want to." He stroked her hips and tucked his hands beneath her rear end. 

"Are you sure? I mean, that's so…personal." She fell back on the bed, overwhelmed as she imagined herself experiencing what he suggested.

"You said you'd let me do anything I wanted." She could feel the warmth of his mouth getting closer. "I want this…let me do it."

The instant his tongue flicked over the center of her desire, a wave of bliss crashed over her like a hurricane. He started with quick, light strokes that became firmer and stronger when her hips began to rock against him. 

She was senseless, out of her mind from the pleasure he was giving her. He held her in a firm grip to prevent her from flailing wildly as each second brought her closer to release. If he stopped, she'd die. If he didn't stop, she would have an out-of-body experience. 

It wasn't just that he was taking her to a place she'd only dreamed of. She knew it had another layer of meaning this time. The trust required to let him do this changed everything about their relationship. Nothing would ever be the same again. 

Just as she was on the verge of exploding, he pulled away. She whimpered in protest, trying to focus her eyes and beg him to continue.

He was kissing his way back up her body, her soft cries filling the room. As he moved back on top of her, he touched her face gently, pulling her back to earth.

She looked at him, feeling something flowing back and forth between them beyond the incredible desire that had been building since that first kiss. She'd trusted him with her body, her feelings, her soul – and he'd treasured them, guiding her through their first time together, bringing her the most amazing pleasure she'd ever known. At the same time, he made her feel safe, loved, wanted.

This was everything she'd ever imagined and never found. To find it with him was something unexpected. He'd been right there all along, waiting for her to figure out what was possible if she'd only give it a chance.

She wrapped her legs around him, drawing him closer. She hoped tonight was only the beginning.

He held her face in his hands, kissing her lips, her cheeks, her chin, everywhere. "I've wanted this for so long," he murmured against her lips. "I've been going crazy from wanting you this way."

"I'm all yours. Not just now, but as long as you want me." She returned his kiss, drowning in the depths of the love she had finally discovered in him.

She drew in a breath when he finally eased himself inside her. He was still for a moment, looking into her eyes. She felt completely one with him in that instant. She let her hands knead the muscles of his back, feeling herself stretch around him, reveling in the way he filled her completely.

He began to move, kissing her with the same lingering tempo. He slipped one hand between their bodies to find the spot where it seemed every nerve she possesed was concentrated, using his fingers to increase the sensations until she could no longer hold back.

She pushed her hips against his, raising to meet him when he moved deeper, pulling back when he withdrew. He accelerated, lowering himself down to her as if he wanted every part of him to touch every part of her. She put her arms around him, wanting his lips on hers as they simultaneously found the ultimate pleasure. It surged through her, suspending time as it rippled over them. As the dizzying undertow carried them to another realm, she felt as if they were dissolving into each other.

After a moment, he planted an exhausted kiss on her lips and broke away from her. He rolled onto his back and pulled her across to lie on top of him.

She rested her head against his chest and stared at the wall. His heart was racing under ear. Her thrill at being the cause of his bounding pulse was mixed with regret that it was over. She felt his fingers playing absently with her hair and sighed. The silence was crowding the room like an unwelcome guest.

She didn't know what to say to him, whether he wanted to talk about it, or if he was only holding her to be polite, waiting for her to fall asleep so he could return to the sanctity of his room.

He shattered the quiet, reading her thoughts perfectly in his uncanny way. "Do you want me to leave?" She heard the anxiety hedging behind his casual pretext.

She raised up to study his face carefully. "Only if you're feeling too uncomfortable." Hesitation clouded his eyes. "I mean – if you need space, or something. That was a pretty intense experience…" she trailed off, trying to still her shaking as she waited for his answer, wondering if the heady tide of emotion she'd felt when he'd made love to her was one-sided. Was it possible that it was always like this for him? She didn't want to be another number on his list of conquests.

His mouth twisted down at the corner. "No, I don't want to leave. I'm afraid of freaking you out if I tell you how I'm feeling."

She sat up, a misplaced sense of modesty causing her to hold the red satin top sheet in front of herself. "Ok…what are you feeling? I won't freak out, I promise." 

__

Please, she prayed, _please say you felt it too, that this wasn't just sex for you._

He covered his eyes with his hands. "God, Rachel, don't make me say it. I've already said this to you once before, and all you said was 'I love you so much, but –'" He dragged his hands over his face and exhaled at the memory.

"I'm not going to say that this time." She heard the quiver in her voice and took a deep breath to banish it.

He turned sharply to her. "Really?"

"Really. Tell me how you feel." She eased herself back down on the bed, reclining on one side to look at him.

"I…" He stopped, cleared his throat. "Ah, what the hell. I'm in love with you. I think I've been in love with you for years. I just didn't figure it out until we went on that date." His gaze traveled over her appreciatively. "And if I wasn't sure before, there's no doubt left in my mind after…"

She slid across the satin sheet, placing an arm over him and kissing him. "I think the same thing happened to me. Only I didn't figure it out until tonight."

"I can't believe you want to be with me." His eyes searched hers, wondering if he was about to wake up for the thousandth time alone with nothing but a dream to comfort him.

She kissed him again. "We belong together. Tonight proved it."

"What are we going to tell everyone? This is going to be so hard for them to deal with…" He winced at the thought of hurting his friends.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." She stroked his chest, warm need curling inside her like smoke from a fire. "Tonight, let's focus on each other." She giggled and pushed her feet out from under the sheet. "But the shoes are coming off!" She kicked them off and into the air with abandon.

"I like the sound of that!" He flipped her over and kissed her, desire stirring both of them once again.

Tomorrow they'd face the future. The day would bring problems and challenges enough to last for a long time to come. But for tonight, she was free to be lost in him until neither of them had a drop of strength left.

She sent a silent thanks to the person who pulled her number out of the hat and gave her those red sheets. 

The End


End file.
